I attended the 2025 Collaborative Journalism Summit in Denver last week, where the theme was clear: “Partnerships with a purpose.”

In an era where newsrooms face dwindling resources and growing public distrust, collaboration isn’t just beneficial — it’s essential. The summit showcased how cross-sector partnerships are not only enhancing storytelling but also driving tangible community impact.

It's evident that when we join forces, we amplify our reach and relevance.

Five key learnings stood out amid the case studies at the Collaborative Journalism Summit on how to ensure successful collaborations. 

These learnings permeated discussions on everything from coaching middle managers to lead collaborations to real-world examples including how the Center for Community News is filling statehouse coverage gaps with students and how civic media organisations like Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Jersey Bee are effectively partnering with the communities they serve.

“Collaboration is incredibly important for media today because partnership can help news organisations efficiently scale their audience, reach, and trust,” said Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. 

“We have seen from years of researching collaborative journalism that journalists working together with other journalists and non-news entities also brings a diversity of thought and skill to newsgathering that would not be possible otherwise. Many of the most impactful journalism projects around the world in the last decade have been collaborations.”

Here’s the advice the speakers gave, along with my thoughts:

1. Develop impact metrics from the start

More journalistic organisations are honing in on how they impact their communities — an essential component of being relevant. This:

• Ensures the partnership is purpose-driven, not just resource-sharing.

• Provides a shared definition of success across organisations.

• Helps demonstrate value to funders, stakeholders, and communities.

• Enables meaningful post-project reflection and accountability.

2. Establish clear lines of authority

Several speakers noted experiences where collaborations weren’t successful — or were harder — because the organisations hadn’t clearly established authority from the outset. This:

• Prevents confusion over roles, responsibilities, and decision-making.

• Builds trust and efficiency, especially in high-pressure moments.

• Clarifies who leads editorial direction, publication timing, or fact-checking.

3. Set goals and parameters for each partnership

Similar to impact metrics, it’s important to be aligned on the end result and what responsibility each entity has in it. This:

• Aligns expectations around scope, timelines, and desired outcomes.

• Helps ensure all partners feel ownership — and limits mission drift.

• Supports transparency and equity, especially in collaborations involving newsrooms of different sizes or resources.

4. Develop a process that's easily replicated

Especially for organisations that collaborate often, speakers stressed that processes are key so it doesn’t feel like you’re starting over from scratch each time. This:

• Makes it easier to launch future collaborations without reinventing the wheel.

• Enables scaling across regions, beats, or coverage types.

• Encourages consistency and quality across collaborative projects.

5. Adjust and evolve as needed

Collaborations can be hard and messy, so it’s important to be flexible and recognise the need to evolve along the way. This:

• Allows flexibility as conditions, needs, or discoveries evolve mid-project.

• Acknowledges that not all plans will fit all communities or partners.

• Reinforces a collaborative culture rooted in listening and responsiveness.

“You need to start with a clear mission and vision,” Stepfanie Alfonso, an instructor at California State University, San Bernardino, told the audience. “From there, you build trust among partners and community members.”

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